first-time dishes

[cellio]

I'd been meaning to try making my own candied ginger and then someone on my reading list mentioned doing so recently, so on Sunday I took a shot at this. The result resembles most candied ginger I've seen for sale (which is tasty). I still have no idea how to replicate the best candied ginger I've ever had, which was darker and more "mellowed" than most. It still had plenty of strong ginger flavor, but it didn't have that initial sharpness. (For those who know the reference, I mean the stuff that the Pepperers' Guild used to sell at Pennsic.)

An unanticipated bonus of making candied ginger is the syrup. Yum -- I can make some good ginger-ale from this!

Last week I made chicken paprikash for the first time. This dish isn't part of my culinary experience, but it's a staple of Dani's past. Most recipes I've found (and this matches Dani's memory) involve sour cream; I found one that's dairy-free but it wasn't very tasty. By the time the chicken (cooked in a skillet) was up to a safe temperature it was dried out. Maybe dark meat would work better than light? And maybe boneless? (The recipe called for a cut-up chicken, which says bone-in to me. I used two breasts.)

I also made shepherd's pie a few days ago. (More Dani comfort-food. No, it does not contain actual shepherds; the apostrophe is important. :-) ) It was better on reheating than it was on the first night. I wonder why.

Comments

[hildakrista.livejournal.com]

For the chicken, using thighs will absolutely help the moisture levels. Chicken breasts walk a very thin line when it comes to drying out. You really can't use whole, un-cut-up or flattened breasts in a skillet or grill situation and not have it dry out - it just takes too long and there is not enough fat in the breast to keep it moist. There are two fixes for this, one I would tend to use and one Ben would use.

Me: Cut up the chicken breasts into smaller pieces. I take it you brown the chicken first to get all the fond? In that step, don't cook it til it's done. Stop at "time it takes for the chicken to be safe" MINUS "the amount of time it will take you to add the other ingredients and finish it off". Add the other stuff and let it finish cooking then. Keep in mind that larger chunks of meat will continue to cook 5-10 degrees after you take it off the heat.

Ben: He would use thighs anyway, brown them in the oven-safe skillet til they are about half done to get the fond delicious and seal the juices, then put the whole skillet, covered, in a 400 degree oven to just-under the "safe" temp (see comment above). Finish in the skillet, either removing the chicken first or not.

As to the shepherd's pie: I know! Mine always tasted better later, too! We make two at a time - one to eat and one to freeze. I think it's because proteins (don't forget the ones in starchy food, too) get stressed out (tighten up) when you cook them, and the longer they have to sit, the more they loosen up and the more they have a chance to blend in with other stuff at a molecular level. This is also why stew tastes better as time goes on. And why you need to let roasts rest before you cut them (or they lose juice).

[cellio]

Thanks for the info! I didn't know that about proteins. (I knew the effects, e.g. to let the roast stand, but I didn't know why.)

I had thought initially to cut up the breasts into smaller pieces, but every single recipe I found called for whole pieces so I shrugged and went along with that. (Yes, brown the chicken first.)

You can freeze shepherd's pie? I wasn't sure how the mashed potatoes would fare. Good to know.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I had thought initially to cut up the breasts into smaller pieces

That might actually make things worse -- small pieces overcook faster and have more surface area to lose moisture through.